Sunday, 24 August 2014

India gets its first “90 per cent indigenous” warship

Indian Naval
Ship (INS) Kamorta was reborn in Visakhapatnam today, when Defence Minister
Arun Jaitley commissioned the navy’s new anti-submarine corvette, which is
billed as 90 per cent indigenous.

The
Kamorta, and three other corvettes that will follow it --- the Kadmatt, Kiltan
and Kavaratti --- are reincarnations of an earlier line of eleven Soviet-supplied
Arnala-class corvettes. The earlier INS Kamorta entered service in 1968 and
provided INS Vikrant, with anti-submarine protection when the aircraft carrier blockaded
East Pakistan during the 1971 war. It was decommissioned in 1991.

“While the
earlier Kamorta was acquired from erstwhile Soviet Union, this one is
‘swadeshi’”, said navy chief, Admiral Robin Dhowan, at the commissioning.

While the Arnala-class
corvettes were barely 1000 tonnes, the new Kamorta is a muscular 3,300 tonnes.
It is designed to destroy incoming anti-ship missiles and aircraft and striking
ground targets, in addition to its primary role of submarine killer.

However,
much like the destroyer, INS Kolkata, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi
commissioned on Aug 16, the Kamorta is joining the fleet without several of
these capabilities. The navy says they will be added on later.

So far, the
Kamorta cannot fully perform even its primary role of detecting and destroying
submarines. It has not been fitted with the advanced towed array sonar (ATAS),
which is vital for detecting submarines, especially in the warm, shallow waters
of the Arabian Sea. Until the ministry of defence (MoD) is able to procure an
ATAS for at least 25 warships that lack it, the Kamorta will remain reliant on
its less capable hull-mounted sonar, the indigenous HUMSA-NG.

As
crippling for the Kamorta is the absence of an anti-submarine helicopter, for
which it has a hangar and a landing deck. The navy has just 10-12 functional
Sea King 42B anti-submarine helicopters, insufficient to equip all the warships
that require these. The Sea King 42B carries a “dunking sonar”, which it lowers
into the water to detect submarines from giveaway sounds; and then drops “depth
charges” to destroy the submarine.

The navy
has been trying to buy a multi-role helicopter (MRH) for several years to boost
its anti-submarine capability, but the MoD has never pushed the procurement
forcefully. The chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Satish Soni,
laments that he is “woefully short” of helicopters.

“All
our helicopters are ageing and need replacement yesterday. The case for
acquisition of helicopters has been going on for some time. Hopefully we will
have the MRH being sanctioned quickly,” says Soni.

Also deficient is the Kamorta’s anti-missile and anti-air
capability. Its surface-to-air missile (SAM) has still not been decided and the
warship has two empty canisters where an SAM will eventually be fitted. Without
that long-range capability, air defence is left to a 76 millimetre super-rapid
gun mount (SRGM), which is built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, and an AK-630
multi-barrel gun that lays down a curtain of lead to destroy incoming missiles
and aircraft.

Since the Kamorta does not have a land attack missile, its
capacity for shore bombardment is limited to the 76 mm SRGM. The navy, aware
that this is only a light weapon, has issued a tender for a heavier 127 mm
SRGM. So far, that acquisition has made little headway.

The defence minister plays down the Kamorta’s lack of
readiness. He said: “If one of
the weapons is not there because it is in the process of production or
procurement, it shall be installed expeditiously as it is available. This is a
process that takes time. It is a learning curve for the defence industry and
for our own research institutions.”

The Kamorta has been built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders
& Engineers, Kolkata (GRSE) for Rs 1,900 crore. It was to be delivered in
2009, with the Kadmatt, Kiltan and Kavaratti following at one-year intervals.
The project, therefore, is being completed five years late.

Key to the
success of an anti-submarine warship is the ability to operate silently. The
Kamorta’s engine and gearbox have been mounted on a special platform to kill
vibration.

INS Kamorta is named after an island in the Andaman &
Nicobar chain. The navy traditionally names warships after rivers, mountains, islands, cities and
islands.

With the pace at which China is modernising its navy, it is important for the Indian Navy to have sufficient surface and under water sea platforms.In case of the saryu and sukanya opv their displacement makes it all right for them to carry heavier weaponry.

There are some suggestion I feel we must incorporate to make our surface ships more leathel.

THE MASSIVE COST ESCALATION , PLUNDERING BY SUPPLIERS , RENTSEEKERS , SHIPYARD DALALS AND NAMELESS FACELESS BABUS TOGETHER WITH CONNIVING STATE AND CENTRAL MINSTERS OF PREVIOUS GOVT HAS,WITH TIME DELAY AND LABOUR PAYMENTS MADE THE NEW SHIP SERIES BUILD UNVIABLE . BEING ASW SEARCH AND ATTACK UNITS CORVETTES AND FRIGATES ARE REQUIRED OVER 75NOS AND THE PRICE SIMPLY MAKES THE NUMBERS TO BE BUILT UNECONOMICAL AND COSTLY